CHARACTERISTICS OF BUBBLE CRAZINESS:
S. stocks, according to many measures, are the most over-valued in history. We live in a Bubble Zone! Read Mystery Markets, Bubbles, and Less Risky Gold.
Bitcoin and other cryptos are definitely in a bubble, but they could rise even higher.
Bonds yield little, and in many European countries, less than zero. Central banks have created this distortion to the detriment of savers, insurance companies and pension funds.
Real estate: Some locations, such as New ZeWednesday, December 13, 2017

The value of soaring crypto-currencies is creating a bubble financial analysts continue to warn about, but it’s also making it overly appealing to cyber thieves. North Korean hackers are now attempting to steal bitcoin, as experts warn of an impending financial dilemma.
Ashley Shen, an independent security researcher, said: “We assume one of the reasons why Bitcoin is being attacked is because the price keeps increasing and we think it’s reasonable for hackers (to target). Digital currency mighTuesday, December 12, 2017

It was two years ago this week that I proclaimed that we were witnessing the final lows in the 2011–2015 bear market in the precious metals as gold traded down to $1,045 amidst total capitulation by the Large Specs and after massive short-covering by the Commercial traders. The weekly COT for that week showed an aggregate short position of a miniscule 2,911 contracts down from the earlier highs of over 300,000 contracts. About six weeks later, despite the earlier bottom in gold, the HUI (NYSE ArTuesday, December 12, 2017

Bitcoin is making quite a name for itself. Once understood as a niche financial product intended to facilitate peer to peer (P2P) transactions, Bitcoin has skyrocketed more than 1,000% to become one of the most valuable and coveted commodities on earth. As a result, Bitcoin is attracting attention from mainstream financial institutions including Goldman Sachs, CMO Group Inc., and Cboe Inc. Last week, Cboe announced that it would begin trading Bitcoin futures on December 10th, which promptedCNBC Tuesday, December 12, 2017

In the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis, Central Banks began cornering the sovereign bond market via Zero or even Negative interest rates and Quantitative Easing (QE) programs.
The goal here was to reflate the financial system by pushing the “risk free rate” to extraordinary lows. By doing this, Central Bankers were hoping to:
1) Backstop the financial system (sovereign bonds are the bedrock for all risk).
2) Induce capital to flee cash (ZIRP and NIRP punish those sitting on cash) andMonday, December 11, 2017

A meme we have seen in the bitcoin community seems to be gaining traction. Bitcoin is deflationary. That is prices of things, measured in bitcoin, are falling. For example, in spring 2011, gasoline was Ƀ1.00. This week, that same gallon had fallen to Ƀ0.0001875. Gas has gone down by 99.98 percent!
We don’t think that even the diehard bitcoin bugs really believe this.
But it leads to an interesting point. In the past, we have used the analogy of measuring a steel meter stick with stretchy rubber Monday, December 11, 2017

If the price action in crypto currencies over the last several months has proven anything, it’s that the blockchain has gone fully mainstream with global investors, major financial institutions and governments showing significant interest in the space. While a number of blockchain projects are moving onto the stage, the primary focus for investors has been Bitcoin, which has seen an increase of over 1,600% in 2017. And according to Frank Holmes, there is much more to come.
In an interview with SMonday, December 11, 2017

The Federal Reserve’s tools for achieving its dual mandate
of low inflation and full employment manipulate interest rates and therefore
markets. This manipulation of rates reverberates
globally. Their manipulation historically had been more light handed and
invisible to most of the public. However, over the last decade, their impact on
interest rates and yield levels have been the most dramatic in the history of
the Federal Reserve.
Whenever you have policies that are extreme, it is best to
Monday, December 11, 2017

* * *
Bitcoin Flirts with $16,000, Alarm Bells Ring Louder
By Jemima Kelly and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss
Reuters
Thursday, December 7, 2017
Bitcoin rocketed to a lifetime high just shy of $16,000 today after climbing some 60 percent over one week, intensifying the debate about whether the cryptocurrency is in a bubble about to burst.
The largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange struggled to keep up with record traffic as the price surged, with an upcoming launch of the first bitcoin futures contract Sunday, December 10, 2017

Dictatorship (noun): Definition #3: absolute power or authority (Websters); Def. #2: absolute, imperious or overbearing power or control (Random House);Def. #3: Absolute or despotic control or power (American Heritage);Def. #3: Absolute or supreme power or authority (Collins English Dictionary);Def. #1: A type of government where absolute sovereignty is allotted to an individual or small clique (Wikipedia).“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battleSunday, December 10, 2017

Content originally published at iBankCoin.com
It was bound to happen... Cat people have hopped on the digital currency bandwagon and collectively plowed over $6.7 million into 'CryptoKitties' - an Ethereum-based virtual cat described as "breedable Beanie Babies," which have sold for upwards of $114,000. Each. The median price of CryptoKitties is $25.04.
DIGITAL CAT BREEDING SCHEME
"CryptoKitties players buy and sell unique digital kittens using ethereum. With two kittens, players can then breed Sunday, December 10, 2017

The bitcoin price has rocketed roughly 1,500% higher in 2017 to around $19,000, before correcting to the current price at $15,000. The #2 cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum, is up more than 5,000% year to date and many of the altcoins that we track have enjoyed similar gains. Cryptocurrencies have been one of the best-performing asset classes of all time.
So, why have so many astute investors and otherwise intelligent people been completely wrong about bitcoin? Why do they profess to know itSunday, December 10, 2017

(This item originally appeared at Forbes.com on December 7, 2017.)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanlewis/2017/12/07/what-is-the-fundamental-value-of-bitcoin/#6effe03f545a
What is the fundamental value of bitcoin? It seems that even the Bitcoin enthusiasts themselves have trouble answering this question. Bitcoin does not have any assets, cashflow, cost of production or final consumptive demand, the traditional basis of most asset valuation techniques.
The market price of anything is determineSaturday, December 9, 2017

"About 40 percent of bitcoin is held by perhaps 1,000 users; at current prices, each may want to sell about half of his or her holdings, says Aaron Brown, former managing director and head of financial markets research at AQR Capital Management. (Brown is a contributor to the Bloomberg Prophets online column.) What’s more, the whales can coordinate their moves or preview them to a select few. Many of the large owners have known one another for years and stuck by bitcoin through the early daysSaturday, December 9, 2017

Bitcoin’s meteoric skyrocketing this year has been astonishing,
captivating traders across the globe. This once-obscure
cryptocurrency has exploded into the world’s hottest market. With
fortunes being won on paper, everyone is talking about bitcoin. But
with its price shooting parabolic, unfortunately this wild ride has
all the hallmarks of a classic popular speculative mania. And those
all end badly, totally collapsing.
In
the annals of financial-market historFriday, December 8, 2017

The hidden agenda in the so-called tax reform bill is to act as stop-gap quantitative easing to plug the “liquidity” hole that is opening up as the Federal Reserve (America’s central bank) makes a few gestures to winding down its balance sheet and “normalizing” interest rates. Thus, the aim of the tax bill is to prop up capital markets, and the apprehension of this lately is what keeps stocks making daily record highs. Okay, sorry, a lot to unpack there.
Primer: quantitative easing (QE) is a theFriday, December 8, 2017

We’ve been persistently bearish on precious metals since September and that has annoyed our readers. The weak price action, negative divergences and bearish fundamentals are too much to currently overcome for the time being. The gold stocks finally cracked this week and have lost another 7%-8% in only the past seven trading sessions. Silver and Gold denominated in foreign currencies have joined the breakdown. Gold meanwhile has not broken down yet but all indications are that it will soon. The cFriday, December 8, 2017

There is a general belief, and that is all it is, that state finances fare better in an inflationary environment than a deflationary one. This perception arises from the transfer of wealth from lenders to the state through a devaluation of the currency, which occurs with monetary inflation, compared with the transfer of wealth from the state to its creditors through deflation. The effect is undoubtedly true, even though it is played down by governments, but it ignores what happens to continuing Friday, December 8, 2017

Consider graphs of three markets from the past. These are well known and important markets, but the names, prices and time scales are not shown. They are plotted on linear scales. Note:
Structure: Each market moved progressively more vertical before crashing.
Bubble: Each market bubbled upward to an unsustainable level and collapsed.
Timing: Few predicted the dates or prices for these bubble tops, but many observed their bubble characteristics.
The Public: The charts show that each market movedFriday, December 8, 2017

The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) will replace its current clearing system with blockchain technology.Australia's chief stock market exchange will Adopt Blockchain as a means of settling trades according to ASX chief executive Dominic Stevens.
This will put Australia at the forefront of innovation in financial markets," said Stevens.
"After so much hype surrounding distributed ledger technology, today's announcement delivers the first meaningful proof that the technology can live up to iThursday, December 7, 2017